An Unpleasant Awakening

"You needn't be, or at any rate not terminal trouble, if you'll just let us take your horses and gear without making a fuss," the leader of the bandits said (Astra did not yet know the name that he used). "We hadn't intended to wake you. We are thieves, forced into a life of crime through necessity. We are not killers, unless you are unwise enough to force our hand."

Fred was still struggling into full wakefulness, so Astra decided that she had better take the lead. She felt that appealing to the bandits' better nature would be a waste of time. Instead she would try deceit. "You'd be well advised to give us a wide berth," she said. "Unless you want sores like ours, that is. You must have seen those on our faces. Our disease is highly contagious and is incurable. Our horses and belongings probably carry the infection too."

1. Astra's bluff works.
2. Astra's bluff fails.
3. Astra's bluff fails. However she does persuade them to leave the ointment, when she explains what it's for.

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